The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

6 uw oS Zz = Ss = day, September 14, 2023 | HAVING MY KID é CLOSER - BUT NOT $700 CLOSE - FEELS 2 LIKE A GIFT WORTH 5 CHERISHING, WRITES § DREW EDWARDS My kid has moved home and I couldn't be happier about it, particu- larly because "home" in this case doesn't mean “back into my home." Now 22, my firstborn flew the coop last ee giving up her well-aj pointed lair in the base ment of our house for stu- dent-esque living with her partner anda friend in Ot- tawa. The transition from cradle beside our bed, to her own room, to the base- ment and finally out of the DREW EDWARDS Column house may have taken more than two decades but it happened in the blink of an eye. any kids, she couldnt wait to get out of oth the house and the city she grew up in. She wasn't ungrateful - she's self-aware enough to know how privileged she is - but it was just time to take "Adulting," as she calls it, to the next level and that meant without Mommy and Daddy. But after being away for a bit, a funny thing happened: she missed both the people and the ce. Because timeisacircle, I went through the same thing 25 years ago. Having just graduated, I took a job inrural British Columbia, about as far away from my hometown and the chaos of my family as I could get. I planned stay year and was away for over five. Eventually though, I felt the pull to come back. Now 1 live in the same city as both my parents (long divorced, they now live less than five healed from each other), other-in-law and within striking distance of most of my wife's family. It's al- so the same town! more or less grew up in. s a result, both my kids went to the same high school I did, which is ei- ther a credit to the stable environment my wife and I have created after our own unsettled upbring- ings or an indictment of our lack of vision and imagination. How I feel about it depends on the day and how much my family is driving me bon- kers. Now I've added my daughter and her partner back in the mix, after Dad- ding it up and driving the U-Haul truck back from Ottawa a couple of week: ends ago (we called it the Drew-Haul because Dad jokes are the best). My wife found them an amaz- ing, relatively affordable place to rent through fam- ily friends - a miracle in this crazed rental envi- ronment. The place is within TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD easy driving or biking dis- tance but beyond drop-by distance: it's farther than the 15 steps down my base- ment stairs, that's for sure. ey'll have inde- pendence z and responsibil- ity and still be close enough to easily spend time with. I couldn't be happier aboutit. My oldest may de- cide to explore the worlda little more, being forced to move away for work or be- cause it's the right thing Till suppoi too, even it means I'll ee less. But for now, having my kid closer - but not too close - feels like a gift worth cherishing. Drew Edwards can be reached at drew@drewed- wards.ca. STAYING INFORMED T0 PROTECT YOURSELF FROM CRIME GUELPH POLICE SERVICE OFFERS TIPS TO STAY SAFE, WRITES MIKE ASHKEWE You never think it will happen to you until it does. What about? Crime. Itcan be especially trau- matizing if you are particu- larly and some- MIKE (O'DAH Aste OF THE RIVER) ASHKEW! Column bled person in a wheel- chair? one sees fit to take advan- tage of a situation. Earlier this month, I was making my way home from a sporting event in Guelph when someone at- § tempted to rob me. ive to ask, what kind of person tries to rob some- 2 B one? A better question it be, what kind of monster tries to rob a disa- Ed rors quick thinking, right place, right time and a quick call to 911 prevented what could have been a seriously bad end- ing to an otherwise won- derful evening spent with family and friends. soon as my would-be assailant heard me give his physical description to the 911 operator and re! exact physical location, the person took off very quick- ly in the other direction. Luckily for me, my wife in drove up Woodlaw: nue to escort me home and keep an eye on me as well. I was lucky and had for- in my favour that might and it got me think- . Is there a problem in Gueiph relating to violent crime? ording to a recent repent in the Guelph Mer- cury Tribune, new data from Statistics Canada in- dicates Guelph has joineda nationwide trend of grow ing crime victim of crime in Guelph, and I am certainly not the only victim of crime com- mitted <gainst a wheel- chair Now that I have some time and distance from my own brush with this un- pleasantness, I wanted to know what I can do to pro- tect myself and ensure oth- ers areinformed whoare in similar situations. Scott Tracey, spokes- person for the Guelph Po- lice Service, said, "for the most part, safety tips relat- ed to vulnerable individu- als will not be that different than tips offered to the community in general." Tracey provided the fol- lowing tips: + Being aware of sur- roundings, including ad- dresses or street names. + Maintaining a cell- ble of calling 911 seen its violent crime met ric at highest rate since 1998. That's unfortunate to read, but I also understand it is a sign of the times. Iam far from the first if possible. + Whenever ossible, try fo remain in public places and tell Someone you trust where you will be going and with whom. +In the event of an alter- cation ofany kind, try tore- tain as m information as possible to pass on to po- lice, such as descriptions of vehicles, including full or partial licence plates, and descriptions of people, in- cluding physical descrip- tors, clothing, unique tat- toos or scars etc. Ifyou areapproached by a stranger and concerned for your safety, draw as much attention to yourself as possible to create wit- nesses and discourage the person's bel While Ihave not lived in pear since that night, lama le bit more cautious in my ‘approach to night time activities and plan a little differently now. Mike "O'dah ziibing/ Heart of the river" Ash- kewe is from Neyaashiinig- miing, Ont. Mike is a disa- bility and Indigenous ac- tivist in the city of Guelph. acareer in the media since 2007 in variety of different roles. mentator, porter and podcast er. Tis ino published ursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 70 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants a wri al ia founci, Suite rey to Yonge St., ronto, Prove A16- 3A! 981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca nne | Aocna “Saat | Canada editorial@waterloochronicle.ca facebook. .com/waterloochronicle @wichronicl WHO WE ARE Publisher and r Vice President, Editorial Lee Ann Waterman Metroland | Editor-in-Chief Paul Bertor Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira Advertising Representatives Jan Bodanka, Matt Miller, pat ae imphreys, Cassandra Managin g Editor Robyn Wilkinson ‘Online Editor Loraine Centeno Ned Bekavac Reporter ap Jackson Director vices Paul Gos tin Waterloo Chronic! 219 Labrador Dr. suite 203, Waterloo, On., N2K 4M8 Phone: 519-886-2830 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca rs to the editor All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the fight to ei condense or reject letter Published letters will appear in print and/or online at waterloochronicle.ca For all delivery inquiries, e-mail istomerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000. Accrédité Accredited.